Monthly Archives: April 2017

Featured

We explore evolutionary patterns and processes that drive functional diversification. We are particularly interested in how multi-species interactions shape diversity on a genome-wide scale and influence form and function. Our research combines applied molecular biology with next-generation sequencing, bioinformatics, and phylogenetics. We use plants and insects as models to study adaptation and current projects focus on the evolution of chemical and structural defenses.

More News!Adam Rork officially joined the lab in August 2017 as a Ph.D. student in the Department of Entomology. Adam most recently came from Maryville University, where he studied Amorphophallus titanum floral volatiles with Dr. Kyra Krakos. See an article on his past research here.

Recently, our research was featured on SDSU NewsCenter: ‘Don’t Bug this Beetle’.

‘Brachinus elongatulus, more commonly known as the bombardier beetle, is a fellow you do not want to agitate. When this beetle feels threatened, it blasts boiling hot, noxious chemicals from its body in rapid-fire fashion. And the smell is not pleasant either.

“It’s a foul-smelling liquid that is quite shocking and distasteful to predators such as toads,” said Tanya Renner, an assistant professor in San Diego State University’s biology department. If a predator tries to eat the bombardier, it gets a mouthful of this unpalatable liquid.’

Our team’s bombardier beetle proposal has been selected as one of five finalists to undergo a popular vote for the world’s most interesting genome! The final winner receives Pacific Biosciences (PacBio) SMRT Sequencing and genome assembly. A bombardier beetle genome will accelerate our ongoing NSF-funded research, helping us to resolve the genetic basis of carabid beetle chemical defense.